Seeking a solution to HIV/AIDS ?– Eskom?’s strategic view

Like many other major corporations in South Africa, Eskom has taken a strategic view of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In consequence, the organisation has a multifaceted programme in place to tackle the disease from various angles. One part of the three-pronged approach to limiting the impact of AIDS on Eskom and its employees is handled by Eskom itself as an internal matter. The other two prongs fall within the portfolio of the Eskom Development Foundation. Both are aimed at limiting and ameliorating the impact of HIV on the wider community.

Between 1989 and 1998, Eskom's different sections, such as Generation and Distribution, engaged in a wide variety of community development activities. In 1998 these activities were consolidated under the aegis of one umbrella body, the Eskom Development Foundation, which receives 3% of Eskom's profits, after tax and dividends, as funding.

The Eskom Development Foundation has two arms - Community Development and Small Business Development - with one common goal: "to improve the quality of life of historically disadvantaged South Africans, through an integrated and effective social investment fund."

"Traditionally, our focus has been on education," says Foundation acting CEO Barry Munnik. "And to a large extent, we have retained that focus. One of our major thrusts is to boost the Maths and Science education resources in South Africa. Another is electrifying schools and clinics. Skills development is also of great importance to us. But, given the urgency of the situation, we hve sought effective ways to respond to the call to address the issue of HIV/AIDS."

Community Development, under Vuyisile Mtembu, handles requests for assistance with AIDS-related projects, of which there are many each year. "We agree to assist, on average, about 10 AIDS projects every month. Some are requests that come from community organisations directly. Youth groups, for example, often ask for help with AIDS awareness projects. In other cases, we might help with the cost of a venue, for instance," says Mtembu.

Because of the nature of Eskom, the Foundation has a uniquely effective model for project selection, ongoing monitoring and feedback from communities, even in some of the most far-flung regions of the country. "We have representatives or practitioners in every part of the country, even in the smallest communities. They help us to assess the value of different proposals. They give us feedback from the community and they alert us to difficulties or problems, if there are any," Mtembu explains.

This kind of assistance forms part of a holistic approach to specific communities. "One of our major strategic drives at Eskom is to roll out our electrification," says Munnik. "As we move into a community, we get a unique chance to see the opportunities for upliftment in it. AIDS awareness forms part of this." To some extent, he explains, other projects within the Eskom Development Foundation have been coloured by the need to boost AIDS awareness. "For instance, we have aligned our skills development projects to include a certain level of AIDS awareness; likewise our life-skills programmes."

In addition to this, the Eskom Development Foundation has taken another, strategically driven approach to the battle against HIV/AIDS, by getting involved in the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI). The Eskom Development Foundation has consequently dedicated some R30 million to this effort to beat the virus that causes so much devastation.

Says Mtembu: "It makes absolute sense that the utiity company that powers South Africa should be a power behind the quest for a vaccine. In human as well as business terms, the impact of the diesase is worst in our part of the world. Out of a total worldwide of 36,1 million people infected, no less than 25,3 million live in sub-Saharan Africa, by far the majority of which live in Southern Africa. So we need to get serious about efforts to get rid of the disease or make it manageable." HIV/AIDS impacts both on Eskom's staff and on their customers, with direct consequences for the utility.

SAAVI was established in 1999, and is funded by government, international institutions, Eskom and private companies. Eskom's initial commitment of R30 million was fed into the project in two portions of R15 million each over two years. "This is really Eskom's response to the national nature of this crisis," comments Munnik.

The aim, according to Dr Steve Lennon of Eskom, who is the Eskom representative to SAAVI in conjunction with UCT, is to make an affordable, effective and locally relevant vaccine within 10 years. An effective vaccine is one which either renders the virus completely incapable of causing infection or modifies the course of infection in recipients so that their viral load is kept extremely low.

"All groups engaged in this work are progressing well,"says Lennon, "with most groups ahead of their milestones at this stage." SAAVI has some vaccines nearing manufacturing stage - they are looking at making at least one possible vaccine within less than two years - after which they will go on to a testing phase.

Whether the Eskom Development Foundation will continue to fund the SAAV Initiative depends on whether the results of the work done so far are positive, and, obviously, on whether the utility does well enough to provide similar funding in the future.

Eskom was one of the first major corporations in Soth Africa to tackle HIV/AIDS. The utility did an in-depth impact assessment more than five years ago. It is a company whose actions touch all our lives, so it is fitting that it should be so committed to the ongoing fight against a disease that threatens us all.